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Judge Scolds Live Nation, DOJ for Secret Settlement Talks; White House: Trump Will Decide Terms for Iran's Unconditional Surrender; White House Discusses Sending Troops to Retrieve Iran's Uranium; Iran War Putting Cultural Sites at Risk; TSA Staffing Shortages Cause Long Airport Security Lines. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired March 10, 2026 - 15:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[15:30:00]

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: ... So that that can be resolved. If not, then the case, he will decide this motion on whether there should be a mistrial or whether the trial will go forward. But the judge saying that the states, they should have been prepared for this possibility.

And for the Justice Department and Live Nation, he said that he wasn't told about two key developments on the eve of trial. He said that they were close to a deal, but they did not tell the judge until after a jury was selected and seated. And then once this trial got underway last week, there were witnesses called for testimony.

The judge said that this settlement was signed by the CEO of the company and the head of the DOJ's antitrust division on Thursday. But he was not aware of it until Sunday night at eight o'clock. So we had tough words for them today, saying, you know, he doesn't care how this ends, but he's going to make them all work to see if they can get a deal this week.

And ultimately, any deal has to be signed off on by the judge -- Boris.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Talk to us about the secret deal that got reached. What are you learning about it?

SCANNELL: So this deal was over the anti-competitive practices of Live Nation, which many years ago bought Ticketmaster. And so according to the Justice Department, these terms are supposed to make it better, more options for consumers and also better pricing. So according to this deal, Ticketmaster will no longer have an exclusive arrangement to sell the tickets for shows at a number of venues.

Venues will have the option to use rivals, including SeatGeek as well as StubHub. And also under this deal, Live Nation has agreed to sell 13 amphitheaters to open up the potential venues and relationships that can be used by musicians and others who perform these events. There will be some restitution paid to certain of the states who said that that was part of their settlement.

That is still being negotiated, became clear in court today. But again, ultimately, this will be signed off on the judge. But the judge did tell the Justice Department and Live Nation that they cannot walk away from this, that they are bound by what they signed -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Kara Scannell, thank you so much for that reporting.

Coming up, more coverage of the war with Iran. The White House saying President Trump is not ruling out any options, including the possibility of ground troops.

We'll be right back.

[15:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: And welcome back to our breaking news coverage of the war with Iran. I'm Erin Burnett here in Tel Aviv this afternoon. And the Pentagon is now confirming approximately 140 American troops have sustained injuries in this war.

They say eight of them have been seriously wounded since the joint operations with Israel began 11 days ago. And we just got an update from the White House a short time ago. It says President Trump will personally determine what an unconditional surrender by Iran would look like.

So, in other words, they're saying it does not matter if Iran ever surrenders at all. What matters is that President Trump says that they are surrendering. And they defined that as Iran not being a threat to the U.S. or its allies. The White House was also asked again about President Trump and his reasoning for launching this war. Here's the response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The president said yesterday for the first time that he had to strike Iran because he believes that Iran was going to strike U.S. targets within seven days. And then he then bumped that down later to three days. Where is he getting that?

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Well, that's not the first time the president has said that he chose to launch Operation Epic Fury because he felt as though Iran was going to strike the United States and our assets in the region first. Again, I addressed this in the last briefing.

This was a feeling the president had based on facts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Perhaps the operative word there is feeling, of course, that the facts here have been contradicted by the Secretary of State as well as others. I want to bring in retired Marine Corps Colonel Mark Cancian, and now he's a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. And very much appreciate your time. So, you know, we just saw, and we're seeing now, we're in the midst of the busiest and most intense night of strikes conducted by Israel and the United States, specifically by the United States on Iran right now. We've had some warnings here today, although I will say, Colonel, fewer over the past 24 hours than the day before, which was -- we had quite a few. It was quite intense in terms of the number of incoming sirens for missiles here.

What do you think the status is? What is the visibility that you have into the status of U.S. strikes in Iran?

COL. MARK CANCIAN (RET.), SENIOR ADVISER, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Well, the United States has air superiority over Iran. So we can fly anywhere, we can strike any target, and we can do that with relatively short-ranged munitions. That means they're much cheaper.

We're not digging into precious inventories. The Central Command has put out lists of their targets. The Revolutionary Guards are very high, as you might imagine.

The production sites for missiles and drones, many of those are underground. They've been struck with special munitions, penetrating munitions, going after the nuclear capabilities, both underground but particularly above ground.

One item that's not on the list is the regular Army.

[15:40:00]

And that may be a message that the Trump administration will leave them in place, maybe as a counterbalance to the Revolutionary Guards.

BURNETT: Oh, and it's a very interesting point. I haven't heard anyone else make that point. So I'm glad that you just did.

I'm also curious as to -- earlier on, I guess 100 hours into the war, I know, Colonel, you were one of the ones at CSIS who put out the number that the U.S. had spent, you know, sort of about -- at that time, I believe, $3.7 billion on the munitions and weapons used at the war at 100 hours. So now, we're going into the 11th day. How much has the U.S. spent, do you think?

CANCIAN: Well, we're working to update our numbers now. The costs up front were higher than they are today because we had to use some very expensive long-range munitions to strike the ground targets until we got air superiority. And we were using a lot more Patriots and air defense missiles.

As we've heard, those Iranian attacks have gone way down, down 90 percent according to the press conference this morning. On the other hand, you know, the costs are high as we continue to attack targets, as we continue to fly aircraft and sail ships. So the Pentagon had said $1.1 billion a day. We think it's a little below that now, probably above that earlier. But at 10 days, you're probably at around $10 billion. BURNETT: It's pretty stunning just to consider that. I'm also curious, Colonel, what you make of two things. One, obviously, the comments that have been out there about Iran's crucial oil exporting location of Karg Island and whether the United States would move to seize that.

Second, the discussion about possible boots on the ground when it comes to seizing Iran's nuclear material, which makes it sound a lot easier than it likely will be. And thirdly, Senator Richard Blumenthal coming out of an Iran briefing not long ago this morning and saying that he is increasingly concerned about U.S. boots on the ground. How do you see that right now?

CANCIAN: Well, let me start with the general topic of boots on the ground. That's been of great interest to the American people and understandably so. Right now, we don't have any ground forces in the region.

There are no Marines aboard ships. So the kind of major combat operation, ground operations that we saw, for example, in the invasion of Iraq in 2003 or in Desert Storm, we don't have those capabilities now. It would take several months to bring those to bear.

And there are no units now moving. The United States could do that. It will take a long time.

But there are these other two possibilities that you mentioned, Karg Island, which is the terminal for the Iranian oil industry. Because it's an island, it's easy to isolate. It's not clear the United States has the capabilities for that, but it would be less difficult.

We need some special forces and some other ground forces, maybe Marines, maybe paratroopers, but it would be still a challenging operation. And for special forces, special operations forces to grab the nuclear material, that's a real stretch. They did an incredible raid in Venezuela.

But Iran is much more difficult. The distances are greater. The fences are much greater.

It would be very, very difficult.

BURNETT: Yes. And of course, canisters of uranium are actually quite easy to hide, to separate all of those things, even if they are in Isfahan, even if they are. Colonel Mark Cancian, I appreciate your time. Thank you very much.

$10 billion, as you heard he said, is about where we are. We'll see when those new numbers come out. But that is the money spent so far, a stunning number. Our coverage of the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran. And what's happening to some of the most beautiful buildings in the world that could be destroyed or at risk of destruction in Iran right now.

[15:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: We're learning about extensive damage to some of Iran's most historic and cultural sites during this war. Video shows the 400-year-old Golestan Palace in Tehran, where you see here shattered windows. There are intricate mirror mosaics that are just in pieces.

Ceilings are damaged. This is a UNESCO World Heritage site that was rocked by nearby strikes.

SANCHEZ: And these images are from the city of Isfahan. A 17th-century palace compound was damaged after a strike hit a nearby government building.

Joining us now is Benedicte de Montlaur, the president and CEO of the World Monuments Fund. Benedict, thank you so much for being with us. What can you tell us about what you've learned regarding historic landmarks that have been damaged in the region?

BENEDICTE DE MONTLAUR, PRESIDENT AND CEO, WORLD MONUMENTS FUND: Thank you so much for having me. And before anything else, I want to explain, of course, our concern for all the people of the region, of all sides, as well as the heritage. Because inevitably, heritage is impacted by war.

And we are seeing examples from both Iran, but also Israel, as well as Lebanon. So for example, in Iran yesterday, there were some airstrikes in Isfahan, one of the most culturally rich cities in Iran, that impacted several important buildings.

[15:50:00]

As you've just said, the Golestan Palace in Tehran has been impacted. But also last week, two Baha'i buildings in the White City, which is also a World Heritage site in Tel Aviv, has been impacted, as well as the city of Tyre in Lebanon.

KEILAR: And Benedicte, just talk to us a little bit about what the impact is on the populace when you see a heritage site like this destroyed or damaged so severely.

DE MONTLAUR: Well, so first of all, there is a very direct impact at most of the sites that I've been mentioning. There were people working. So in most of those places, people have been injured.

So that's a very direct impact. But secondly, I think what you are referring to is the impact on the population. Because when you impact heritage, when you destroy heritage, you really are impacting the sentiment of identity, of nationality, of the history of the people.

But frankly, those are World Heritage sites. So we need to prevent their destruction because they are irreplaceable. Irreplaceable for the people of the region, but really irreplaceable for all of us as humans, because this is a part of humanity.

And that's why World Monuments Farm is doing so much around the world to preserve heritage before war and after war. In this region, like we are working in Babylon, so we are seeing the impact of war there. We are working in Mosul, but we are also working in Ukraine.

We consider that today war is one of the major, major threats to heritage around the world.

SANCHEZ: UNESCO says that cultural property is protected under international law. Does that mean that someone could be held accountable for its destruction?

DE MONTLAUR: Indeed, there are several treaties that oblige governments to protect heritage during times of war. So that's, in particular, the 1954 Hague Convention, but also the 1972 Treaty on Protection of Cultural Heritage. And all parties of this current war are parties of those treaties.

So they have the obligation to do their utmost to protect heritage when they are striking.

KEILAR: Benedicte de Montlaur, thank you so much for being with us. This is obviously a very important part of this conflict to watch, and we thank you for your expertise.

DE MONTLAUR: Thank you so much for having me.

KEILAR: And ahead, travelers have been stuck in security lines for hours at some airports and wait times might not be getting better anytime soon. We'll have that next.

[15:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Travelers are getting stuck in hours-long lines through airport security, and the situation might not get better anytime soon. And that can only mean one thing about where we are in this show.

SANCHEZ: It's time for CNN Aviation correspondent Pete Muntean and his always great advice, which is, Pete, pack your --

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Pack your patience. If you have to travel, build in extra time this weekend, never check a bag, always carry on. I say it a million times.

I wish I got a 20 every time I gave the advice. Here is the good news now. The mega lines that we saw over the weekend and into Monday are subsiding now, but we're not totally out of the woods yet.

Here are the latest TSA wait times. Double-digit numbers right now, the worst lines, Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport as of this afternoon, up to 28 minutes to get through TSA there. JFK, 28 minutes as well.

Orlando, 26 minutes. Newark, 25 minutes. Notably, Houston Hobby, which was among the worst nationwide for long lines, Sunday, Monday, now down to only about 11 minutes.

But even still, this is the alert from Hobby Airport, which warns passengers to arrive three hours early for domestic flights, four hours early for international flights. This graphic is also an eye check for those of you who need one. The issue here --

KEILAR: I can't see anything.

MUNTEAN: -- is that it's pretty hard to predict where this is going to go. And airports are saying that TSA staffing and wait times may vary day to day and shift to shift, meaning this is kind of unpredictable. And it's really not good news for the millions of travelers packing into flights for spring break right now.

We've also heard from union officials that represent the TSA agents. They're called TSO, Transportation Security Officers, and they say TSA officers are facing major financial strain right now. They got half a paycheck two weeks ago.

Their upcoming paycheck this week will be a $0 paycheck. And I want you to listen now to what White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt just said about this during this afternoon's press briefing. Here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEAVITT: He wants the brave men and women of our United States Coast Guard to receive their paychecks. And he wants this department to be fully funded and fully reopened. And so to any American out there who is struggling without a paycheck, we know there's more than 100,000 of you across the country.

To any American out there who is showing up to an airport and facing incredibly long wait times and lines, call your Democrat member of Congress and tell them to fund the Department of Homeland Security. That's what President Trump wants to do. And it's completely ridiculous that the American people are suffering as a result of these partisan games that are being played by Democrats on Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MUNTEAN: A lot of mudslinging and a lot of blame happening right now. But just some context here. This is always a big political pressure point.

It was TSA agents not reporting to work, partially responsible for ending the 35-day government shutdown of 2018 into 2019. We saw sick calls also increase during the most recent government shutdown this past November. The union of TSA agents says workers are getting pretty desperate now, and they need to get paid, they say.

[16:00:00]

Some of them are working part-time work as door dashers, some are even donating blood. It's a really tough time for them right now.

SANCHEZ: They also play such a huge role in keeping people safe. So, yes. MUNTEAN: Yes. SANCHEZ: Our producers are yelling at us that we have to go. But Pete,

it's always a pleasure to have you. Always wish we had more time, buddy.

Thanks for joining us. "THE ARENA" with Kasie Hunt starts right now.

END